Five days down

We started the first week of our Detox program on Monday.I have to say if we had not "ramped up" first, this really would have been hard. For six weeks we eliminated white flour products, processed foods, sugar, most canned foods and store bought condiments, anything with preservatives or artificial colors. We limited dairy to 3 times a week per serving, beef to once a month, and chicken or fish to three times a week in very small portions. We stopped using any type of oil other than Olive or walnut oil for dressings and such, and Macadamia nut or grape seed oil for cooking. Our diet consisted heavily of vegetables, nuts and seeds and fruit. We allowed ourselves a little bit of honey, coffee, beer and wine. (After all this may be our diet permanently).
   We still don't get enough water. I drink 48 to 60 ounces a day but that is still way off from my goal of 100 ounces. Harry is short by 24 ounces or so. The thing that makes drinking water so difficult is the timing. I drink some when I get up, when I drive to and from work, one at work, then one when I get home. Sometimes I don't get the morning one because we barely have time to drink our coffee and grab some breakfast. It is not a good idea to drink water for 1 1/2 hours after a meal because it interferes with the digestion.
   Now with the detox, we have added back some natural grains. Lunch and dinner include grains and beans to compensate for the lack of protein. We have no animal products at all on the detox program. The plan I am following allowas Agave nectar, but we are not even doing that. We are using Stevia or Lou Han but not much at that. We are drinking at least 12 ounces of lemonade a day made with Cayenne pepper and Stevia. It is something we look forward to. We have limited ourselves to one cup of coffee but two out of the five days, we had tea. We drink one cup of Dandelion or Detox tea daily. No alcohol, period.
   For the first time in 1 1/2 years, I dropped below 190. I have noticed a few other changes. Harry and I both feel great. More alert than we have in a long time. Harry can smell things now! I guess once his tinitus got under control to a faint hum, something changed his olfactory nerve. That was quite unforseen. One thing I noticed is that my skin is much softer and smoother. I have really been battling dry, rough skin for years and suddenly - not! These are benefits I never expected or considered.
One other thing... the coughing stopped! After 6 months, it stopped!

  I was reading in my book that the diet could be repeated after the month was over until our health is where we want it to be. I thought we could stay on the detox diet plan and then juice fast just one or two days a month. Harry is a little leery, saying he would rather return to our modifed diet for good, but we will see how we feel in a few weeks.